Between Blondes
by MintiNeko
Summary: Onetime rivals talk in a field, of gossip and a pineapple haired genius. Temari, Ino friendship. ShikaIno.


**A/N: **I always have thought that Temari and Ino were remarkably similar, even if Ino is more hotheaded. If it wasn't for Shikamaru, they probably would find some way to get along. So here is a little scene I pictured of them as friends.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, if I did, I would be Japanese, older, and a guy

* * *

_Ah, so this is why Shikamaru loves watching the clouds, it is really relaxing, _thought Ino, basking contently in warm sun.

It was a rare lazy day, with no missions for anyone in the village, warm weather, and many, many beautiful flowers blossoming all over the place. In the middle of collecting some for her mother's shop, Ino had suddenly and unconsciously did a Shikamaru and had lain back on the grass to watch small, fluffy clouds drift through the sky. After all, she had more than enough flowers to choose from, she wouldn't have to search particularly hard.

She didn't think anyone would care if she happened to be a little late coming home. After all, she and Shikamaru weren't getting together until later that afternoon, and she had already seen many couples just loitering around.

Exiting her house she had spotted Sasuke and Sakura walking off somewhere arm in arm, Sakura chattering cheerfully while Sasuke listened with interest. Ino could only giggle at his attentiveness, considering how only a few years back he would have ignored Sakura completely.

Passing the restaurants she had spotted Hinata and Naruto in Ichiraku's, Naruto managing to eat with his left hand while he draped one arm around his girlfriend's shoulders with his right. Ino was relieved that Hinata was no longer so uncomfortable with being near Naruto, but she was still amused at the lovely shade of pink the heiress had turned. She was even more amused when Hinata turned her head and planted a kiss on Naruto's cheek, causing the boy to knock over his bowl of ramen and let it spill on the counter.

She had been passing through the forest when she heard a particularly loud splash, followed by feminine laughter. Curious, Ino peered through the trees just in time to see a soaking wet Hyuuga Neji pick up the still giggling Tenten and toss her bodily into the river.

"Aw, Neji, was that really necessary? What was wrong with the Hyuuga Glare?" asked Tenten between giggles as she stood up in the middle of the river and shook out her clothes.

"Hn," Neji merely smirked, apparently satisfied with his revenge. He offered a hand to Tenten to help her out of the river, managing to look like a gentlemen despite to water dripping from everywhere on his person. Ino was grateful that his Byukugan wasn't activated: she very much doubted that the prodigy would have liked his chivalrous actions witnessed.

"Don't think I can be swayed by your manners, Hyuuga." Warned Tenten, ignoring the hand as she clambered onto the bank, "In fact," she removed a kunai from her sleeve and began to toy with it, "you haven't been to the barber in a while, so…" She smirked at the expression on her teammate's face.

"You wouldn't," he deadpanned, looking nonetheless apprehensive. At this point Ino was having severe difficulty stifling her laughter, forcing herself to bury her face in the nearest tree trunk. Even though she couldn't see anymore, she could still hear the couple.

"But Neji, your hair is getting ssooo long, and I'm sure that this kunai could fix that just fine."

"Tenten, I'm warning you…" Ino could imagine the Hyuuga prodigy backing away from a maniacal Tenten.

"Warning me? I'm warning _you_. You have five seconds." Neji wasted no time pelting off in the opposite direction, his girlfriend at his heels, threatening him with a bowl cut. Resisting the urge to follow them, Ino continued on to her favorite clearing.

So here she was, the only kunoichi not currently with her boyfriend, relaxing and enjoying the silence.

Well, maybe not the _only_ kunoichi…

"Ino, there you are." A deep feminine voice greeted her from behind. "Your mom said you should be here."

"Hi, Temari" Ino raised herself on her elbows to look at the Sand Jounin, who was smiling down at her. There was very little dislike between the two young women now, though at one point you could have cut the tension between them with a kunai. Actually, the tension might have broken the kunai.

"Can I join you?"

"Sure," Temari sat down next to Ino, laying her giant fan on her other side.

"So instead of helping your mom with the shop, you're just watching the clouds," the older woman asked as they looked up into the sky, Ino nodded as she soaked up the warm sun, "Shikamaru is really rubbing off on you. Soon you'll be sleeping in all day and muttering 'how troublesome' all of the time."

"I certainly hope not!" Ino pretended to shudder while Temari laughed good-naturedly, "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, changing the subject, "A mission?"

"Escorting Gaara. He had to meet up with Tsunade to discuss punishments for the Uchiha for killing so many Sand nin." Ino winced at Temari's blunt wording; Sasuke's acceptance into the village was new enough that old wounds were still healing. "It's amazing all the damage such a handsome face can do, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." agreed Ino, "Do you like him?" inquired Ino, rolling onto one side so she could watch Temari's expressions better.

Temari let out an amused snort. "No, thank you very much. I'll admit he's handsome, but I swore off dark brooding men after meeting my brother." She mimicked Ino and rolled onto her side, watching the younger girl curiously. "Besides, a little birdie told me that he has someone else in mind."

"That is a very accurate little birdie." Remarked Ino, wondering if Temari had seen Sasuke or Sakura.

"I take it that it's your friend?" Temari had taken the time and care to learn about everyone in the Konoha 12, as well as their relationships regarding everyone else. So she had known for some time about Sakura's love for Sasuke.

"Yup, everyone knows that in a few years, Sakura will become the matriarch of the Uchiha clan!" Ino said happily. She knew this for a fact, she had been there when Naruto and Kiba had interrogated Sasuke under the influence of strong sake, and Sasuke (also quite drunk) admitted that he was thinking of asking her in a few years.

"You think so?" asked Temari, a little skeptically. Ino shot her a disbelieving glare.

"Well, Itachi's dead, so he's no longer a problem, Orochimaru's the same, and Sasuke-kun and Sakura both really, really love each other--"

"Hold it," Temari held up her hand, stopping the flow of reasons, "I didn't mean to sound like I was questioning their relationship. But I just find it hard to imagine he could fall in love so soon."

"Eh, he's always had something for forehead girl; it's just that he probably hid it in that kunai he used to always sit on." Ino flapped a hand carelessly as Temari let out a snort of laughter, "Or at least, he's always felt a connection with her. She's part of the reason it was easy to retrieve him after Itachi had been killed."

"Oh? How?" Temari, apparently, had yet to hear tales about the retrieval. Ino was only too willing to rectify that.

"Well, somehow, forehead girl ran into Sasuke-kun after he was in a battle with Deidara—"

"I've seen pictures of him; I almost thought he was you." Temari snickered as Ino glowered at her.

"Thank you for relating me to an insane S-classed criminal who stole my hair style, but that's beside the point. Anyway, Sakura being Sakura, she healed him, and once he came around, alternately asked him if he was all right and yelled at him for letting himself get like in that state. But somehow between that and his team going back on the move, he had somehow figured out a way to keep Sakura with Hebi."

"I take it he wanted a trained medic, then?"

"I think so, besides, Sakura also stayed because she made an easier 'locator' for the dogs and Kiba to track than Sasuke did. She did have her own reasons." Ino didn't want to inadvertently spread around the assumption that Sakura was weak. The two girls may have fought, but they were best friends. For what other reason would Ino have gone out of her way to corner the Uchiha and threaten him with castration if he toyed with Sakura's heart once she had learned of his interest in Sakura?

"She was still in love with him."

"Well, she never really gave up on him. And from what she told me, Sasuke was a lot kinder to her than to his teammates." She let out a giggle, "and that made one of them rather jealous."

"_Really_? I didn't hear anything about that! Any catfights?" Temari just loved a good brawl, a trait she shared with Ino, and one of the many reasons why at one point Ino and Temari were not allowed within twenty feet of each other.

"I think so; Sakura was vague when it came to that. But that girl, Karin, I really didn't like her when they brought her in, so I hope Sakura taught her a lesson."

"What was wrong with her?"

"For starters, she was completely unstable and scary! And for another, she acted all fangirly, you know, like she was twelve and not seventeen. At least, I think she was seventeen. She looked older than Sasuke-kun in any case."

"Fangirly?" Temari quirked an eyebrow, "You mean the way you were?"

"What can I say? I was twelve! Now I'm sixteen and I know better."

"And it helps that you have Shikamaru."

"Definitely." A pause.

"…um, Temari, can I ask you something?" Ino fidgeted nervously.

"Almost anything, so what is it?"

"Why did you and Shikamaru break up?" Temari was surprised by the question, but not angered by it.

"He didn't tell you?"

"Well—"

"Then again, the guy once semi-starved himself because he couldn't be bothered to cook while his mom was on a mission."

"Exactly. He said it would be too troublesome to tell me so…please?"

"Well, I really don't know how to say this, Ino…'

"Say it, I don't care."

"It _was_ too troublesome." The look on Ino's face when she said it was absolutely priceless.

"_Eh???_"

"That's the only way to describe it. For starters, the distance made things difficult for us, I mean; we went through a lot of trouble—Ino, stop twitching, the word isn't _that_ bad—to see each other. But, it's just not the same as having someone right where you are. When I needed to see him, I couldn't just drop my duties and come over here." Ino nodded, she could see the logic in that.

Temari plucked some of the daisies near her head and began to make a daisy chain, talking as she worked. "But it wasn't just that. In the end, Shikamaru and I didn't mesh just right."

"What do you mean? He's a lazy ass and you're just as bossy as I am, everyone says that opposites attract. At least, that's what everyone said when we started dating."

"That's the thing, I'm bossy because I want someone who bosses me back, and you're bossy because you choose to be." Ino had to raise an eyebrow at that.

"Temari, that doesn't sound like you. Being the way you are because you want someone just like you, I don't buy it."

"Well, point is, I wanted someone who would fight back, and Shikamaru didn't do that."

"Ah," there was silence for a few minutes, as both girls worked on their daisy chains, then—

"There's another reason, isn't there?" Asked Ino, without looking at Temari.

"N-no. Ino, what are you talking about?"

"Temari, Shika told me after you two broke up that I was one of the reasons." She ignored Temari's appalled look and continued, "He didn't give me exact details, so I want to hear what you have to say."

"That tactless idiot!" Temari crushed the defenseless daisy in her hands, "He of all people—I mean, the nerve! Ino, I'll tell you only if you promise me that I can slaughter the idiot!" she said other things that tore Shikamaru's personality to shreds and threats that would have made paper shrivel were they printed.

"Temari, could you please stop that? Blunt as he is, he is still my boyfriend, and I'm the only one who can insult him. And you can't kill him; just rough him up a bit."

"…Fine. Well, Ino, it wasn't like Shikamaru was madly in love with you while we were dating," Ino let out a sigh of relief, "but, do you have any idea how long Shikamaru adored you for?"

"Not really." She admitted

"Since the two of you entered the academy, maybe even a little before that. You played a leading role in his favorite memories, even if it wasn't always flattering. So most of the memories he shared with me had to do with your interactions with him." Temari finished her daisy chain and turned it into a circlet, which she put around Ino's head.

"_Really_?" Ino couldn't believe her ears; Shikamaru really did have no tact when dealing with real life.

"Yeah, and I just felt angry that he had been so in love with you, and I was jealous and angry that he had let you consume such a large part of his life. And it was really tearing me up because it was unfair of me to ask him to forget you, but it was unfair to me that he couldn't forget you." Temari paused for breath, and then continued, "At first it wasn't that big of a deal, but as time went on, I got afraid. It was silly, but I couldn't help it. I began picking fights with him for the heck of it, and I would sulk if he didn't spend time with me. Finally, it got to the point were even talking it out wouldn't help, so we just… fell apart."

"Oh _Temari_-"

"Don't 'oh Temari' me! It would have happened even if he hadn't been in love with you. It wasn't like he was hanging on the past, but I wasn't secure enough with myself to be in a relationship with Shikamaru." A look of sadness passed over her face, but was quickly replaced with a grin. "And unless you're secure, it's impossible to have a relationship with the lazy ass. He doesn't tell you anything he doesn't want to. Besides, we make better friends than lovers."

"I guess…" Ino trailed off, unsure.

"Don't guess, just know. Besides, it's all over and done with, water under the bridge."

"Yeah, it is." Agreed Ino, smiling softly. _And I'm glad._

* * *

For about a half hour they lay there, talking about every topic under the sun, before Ino remembered that she needed to get back to the flower shop. Temari offered to keep her company, and walked back with her.

Just before they reached the flower shop, Temari suddenly started.

"Oh shoot! I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"The reason why I was looking for you!"

"You had a reason? My company wasn't enough?" Ino mock pouted.

"Nope." They both laughed, "But guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm getting married next year." Ino gaped at Temari for a full minute before dropping her flower basket and throwing her arms around Temari's neck in a tight hug.

"Congratulations! You met your dream man!" Ino withdrew from the hug and held the older girl out at arm's length, eyeing her suspiciously, "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"It slipped my mind. Anyway, I need the best flowers for my wedding, so I was wondering if you could—"

"Of course! Though it'll cost you extra, the Yamanaka Flower Shop doesn't usually cater out of the country."

"No problem. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Can you be my bridesmaid?" asked Temari hopefully.

"Sure." Ino smiled gently, "Thanks for the honor." Temari's face split into a wide grin

"No, _thank you_! You're saving me from having to use my mother-in-law-to-be's suggestions. Now all I need to see is if the other girls will agree."

"They will," declared Ino confidently. "Come on; let's see if we can find them. Probably at Ichiraku…" Ino quickly dumped the slightly cluttered flowers on her mother and dragged Temari to the Ichiraku.

True to Ino's words, all of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai were occupying the Ichiraku. Kiba, Naruto, and Lee were arguing about something pointless with poor Hinata was stuck in the middle, Chouji and Shikamaru were eating (though Shikamaru paused to give his girlfriend a kiss) quietly, Sakura and Tenten were teasing Neji (who was sulking because an inch of hair had been cut off) while Sasuke and Shino looked on with amusement.

"Hey everyone! Temari's getting married!"

During the commotion that followed while everyone congratulated the Sand nin, Ino slid into an unoccupied stool besides Shikamaru and looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Aren't you surprised that your old girlfriend is getting married?"

"Not really. I was expecting it." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes. Of course. The Great Shikamaru predicts everything."

"Not everything."

"Oh, and what was so insignificant to escape your notice?"

"That you and Temari would become friends. How did _that_ happen?" Ino smirked and pecked him on the cheek.

"That is for us to know and for you to never learn."

Shikamaru would probably never figure out that he was the reason they became friends.

But then again, who would?

* * *

Just something I thought up. Sorry if the girls are too OOC.

Review, please. I need to know what you think.


End file.
